Deserted
by paper-fl0wers
Summary: One-shot. From day one Luke somehow knew Jess would be troubled.


**A/N: Lorelai was 16 when she was pregnant with Rory. If Luke is the same age as Lorelai that would mean he was 16 when Liz gave birth to Jess. I always felt Luke was a little older than Lorelai. I can't remember if this was mentioned on the show or not. So in this story Luke is in his mid-twenties and Liz in her early twenties. If you feel Luke and Lorelai are the same age, consider this an AU. **

Deserted

The worn out apartment was not an ideal place to raise a child, nor were Liz Danes and Jimmy Mariano ideal parents. But Luke new they would make the best of the situation. This "pleasant surprise" Liz spoke of for nine months frightened Luke. Liz can't even take care of herself and she was pregnant? Things have a way of working out on their own though.

He sat in the armchair, resting his head and closing his eyes wearily. They had just returned from the hospital today. Liz held her newborn son close to her breast, humming softly a song Luke was pretty sure didn't actually exist. Jimmy sat on a chair at the table, silent and nervoulsy twiddling his fingers. He stared at Liz anxiously. Luke hadn't thought much of it then, chalk it up to new parent jitters. God why hadn't he thought more?

The humming, which Luke found strangely soothing, came to an abrupt stop. Luke looked at his sister, who was looking at him. Liz stood. "Hold him, Luke. I'm tired."

Luke was never comfortable with children. "Oh, Liz, I don't know-" he began but Liz was already forcing Luke's nephew into his arms.

Luke held him awkwardly as Liz smiled in pure admiration. "You look great with him, Uncle Luke."

Luke looked down at his nephew, who was staring at him with soft brown eyes. _Jess. _That was his name. It was a good name. It suited him well. How? Luke wasn't sure, but he knew it did.

Luke took Jess' tiny hand in his, and Jess immediately grasped his much larger hand. This action had brought tears to Liz's eyes in the hospital. She claimed Jess was holding her hand. Luke refrained from telling her this was known as the grasping reflex. He was glad he had, because even though he knew of this relfex, something in him melted when Jess grabbed his hand.

Jess was prefect. His skin was smooth. His eyes two chocolate orbs. His nose wasn't too big or too pointy and he had a dark mass of brown, nearly black, hair. Luke smiled warmly. He was less than a day old and he already had hair.

Jess would be smart. Luke knew it. He would be smart like his grandfather was, not ditzy like Liz. He would graduate top of his class, and become a strong, confident young man. "He's incredible, Liz," Luke said softly.

"Don't you love him so much?" Liz exclaimed in agreement.

Jimmy had left about ten minutes ago to pick up diapers. Luke decided to go get something to eat. There was nothing in the apartment. He promised a famished Liz he would return with food for her as well.

So Luke went to pick up dinner. He wasn not a city man, but over the years he had visited Liz here numerous times and became used to Manhattan. He called Liz, informing her he was going to take an hour to himself and explore the city and that he'd return home if she needed him. Hungry but too wrapped up in her newborn son to care, she assured Luke she would be fine.

Luke was in Washington Square Park when Liz called.

"Hey, Liz," Luke said. He heard Liz inhaling rapidly and immediately grew fearful.

"Luke," Liz said, her voice full of desperate tears, "I need you to come home. Something terrible has happened."

"Is it Jess, Liz? Did something happen to Jess?" Luke asked, panicked.

"No, Jess is fine. Just come home." Liz burst into tears and hung up before Luke could say anything else.

Luke stood there for a full minute in utter shock, phone still held up to his ear. Then the terror kicked in. He ran, his panic helping to quicken his pace, as fast as he could to the apartment.

"What's wrong?" Luke cried immediately upon bursting into the apartment. The first thing he did was race over to Jess' crib, despite Liz's assurance that Jess was ok. Liz wasn't fibbing though. Her son was a sleepy bundle of blankets, vulnerable but safe at the moment.

Luke settled the food ontop of the table and went to Liz. She lay crumpled in the armchair Luke had been resting in earlier. Used tissues were scattered about the floor and she was holding a fresh one. Liz looked so weak and victimized. She lifted her head to look at Luke, eyes red and cheeks streaked with tears.

"Liz, tell me what happened," Luke ordered, firmly but also gently.

"He's not coming back. He left me all alone," Liz whimpered painfully.

_Who_? Luke thought and it hit him in an instant. "Jimmy," he said aloud. "What makes you think that?"

"He was supposed to get diapers and he's still not back. It's been almost an hour."

Luke almost laughed in relief. "It's the city. He probably got caught in traffic or something."

"No, Luke,_ look_." She shaply gestured to the bedroom she shared with Jimmy.

"What am I looking at?" The bedroom appeard completely normal.

"The _closet,_ Luke! The _closet!_" Liz wailed miserably.

_Am I checking for monsters? _Luke thought grimly as he opened the closet. The sight was far worse than a monster.

At least half of Jimmy's shirts were missing, hangers still present. The other half of his shirts and most of Liz's were either half on the hanger and half sliding down or had fallen onto the floor. This was evidence that Jimmy had thrown all his clothes into a bag hastily.

"Jimmy," he hissed through clenched teeth. His mood went from confusion to anger.

"I never saw him pack. He must've packed last night," Liz whispered so eerily Luke nearly jumped.

Suddenly Luke wanted to cry, but he couldn't. He had to stay strong for Liz and Jess. He went over to Liz and gave her a shoulder to cry on. Shortly after Jess began to cry.

"I'll get him," Luke said. He walked over to the crib and took Jess in his arms. He carefully rested his chin on his nephew's head and whispered softly, "I'll protect you."

"Maybe he'll call," Liz said hopefully.

Luke could see the trouble coming from a mile away. He looked over to a broken Liz and then back to a wailing Jess. Jess looked completely different now. He was a child in danger. Somehow Luke knew Jimmy was not coming back. Somehow he knew Jess' father would be a stranger to him. Somehow Luke knew Jess was in for trouble.

Years from now, when Luke's nephew would come to live with him, Luke would realize the horrible irony of receiving that phone call in Washington Square Park. The park would become his second home, because his real one would not be stable. And that would be because of what had just happened.

**Tell me what you thought of it before you go on to read another story. :)**


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